Info
Ringo consists in throwing a rubber ring over a tape, rope, string or net so that it falls onto the opponent’s field. This ring can be bought cheaply in many stores. You can also use other items to play at home or in the garden, e.g. tennis balls or even boxes, rolled-up newspapers etc.
You hang a string, net, rope or net at a height depending on the age and the height of the players. You can play one-to-one or in teams of two or three participants each side (or even bigger).
In one-to-one version, one player starts the game with a serve from behind the end line – he or she has to throw the ring over a net or a tape with one hand to the other half of the pitch. The opponent tries to catch it (also with one hand) and flip it again with the same hand over the string/net/tape.
Players only move around the pitch without a ring in their hands. When they catch it, they must stop and flip the ring. When the ring hits the ground on the opponent’s field of play, the game is interrupted and the team which managed to force its counterpart not to catch the ring, gets a point.
If the ring flies under the net or falls to the ground off the pitch, the team which committed this mistake, loses a point.
In team version, you play with one ring in teams of 2 or 3 participants a side or you can try a more professional type of ringo – playing with two rings, flying simultaneously!
History
Ringo is a sport with similar equivalents in the other countries, such as German Ring tennis or English deck tennis, played on boards of the ships, which were enjoyed during the long-lasting cruises at the beginning of the 20th century.
In Poland, Polish Ringo dates back to the 1950s. Initially, it was a part of a training of Polish fencer – Włodzimierz Strzyżewski.
In 1968, this sport was presented during the Olympic Games in Mexico as Polish Ringo (the name is derived from an English word: “ring”).
Physical abilities developed
motor skills: coordination and body balance, throwing the ringo upwards with one hand, grabbing with the other hand, throwing and gripping of the wheel with one hand at different heights, reaction speed, agility; social: collaboration in small groups